Shay-Keded, The Cursed Kopesh

The Shay-Keded, or “Sand-Slaughter” is a magical kopesh hailing from the forgotten deserts of Nehekhara. The blade steals the life-force of its victims into potent magical energy for its wielder. However, it holds a great curse that backlashes the wielder if the magical energy absorbed by the blade is not spent…

(Note: The Shay-Keded was created for use in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition setting and system. With minor tweaking, it can be adapted to any setting or rules system.)
The Shay-Keded, or “Sand-Slaughter”, was created by a fanatical death cult (a sub-sect of the Mortuary Cult of Nehekhara) called “The Warriors of Endless Time” millennia ago. The purpose of the blade was very simple, however. It was created to destroy.
Physical Description
The Shay-Keded is on inspection a crudely beaten bronze kopesh (an ancient form of sword, similar to a backwards sickle) with embossed hieroglyphics down its length. Despite its dilapidated appearance, it has a wickedly sharp edge that shows no signs of it even having been sharpened.
The blade lacks a crossbar, but around the hilt is woven was appears at first to be dull leather, but on closer inspection is flayed human skin. Worse still, when holding the blade by the hilt, one can feel a dull pulse coming from the flesh bound around the base.
For those who can read the ancient Nehekharan text, it tells of its purpose and its perceived destiny:
“Shay-Keded was born in fury and ambition and shall die in the heart of its truest master.”
(One could adapt the blade to hail from any ancient civilisation, however, one influenced by Egyptian culture is most fitting.)
Magical Properties
The Shay-Keded has a magical vampiric ability in that it feeds off of the life-force of its victims, fuelling the magical energy of its wielder.
In mechanical terms, should the blade deal at least 1 Wound to an opponent, then the wielder gains +1 to their Mag Characteristic during their next round of combat. Should they not cast a spell during this following round, the bonus Casting Dice becomes a Chaos Dice that remains (and is stackable with other Chaos Dice produced through other means and as a by-product of this ability) until the next sunrise.
In terms of fluff, any wound caused by the Shay-Keded seems to bleed sand for a few moments before acting as a normal wound (that is, by releasing blood). Any limb or body part cut off with this blade shatters into sand when it hits a hard surface. This is also the case for items held by the victim (although magical items are unaffected). Items of Best Quality are not destroyed on a roll of 6+ on a d10, and are merely reduced to Poor Quality. These items appear to have weathered many hundreds of years in an instant.
(One could adapt the abilities to give a bonus to casting rolls in the following turn, but then count as a casting penalty if not used immediately.)
History
Crafted by the Warriors of Endless Time, the blade was eventually taken up by one of Vashanesh’s lieutenants, a vampire of considerable skill himself. When, however, Nagash the First Necromancer fell after his vampire servants rebelled, the blade was whisked away north, to await the return of Vashanesh.
However, those who bore it away eventually doubted the return of their lord, and held close to the blade, keeping it as an heirloom for the master of their house, which they named House Vasilikov in the local Kislevite fashion of the North.
The Vasilikov family eventually settled in the doomed city of Praag, and have since ruled over their little slice of the underworld of that wretched city with an iron fist and the bronze Shay-Keded.
(One could adapt the history to be that after a great calamity the blade was secreted away to be returned to its old master. However, the custodians of the blade became jealous and refused to return it once their master returned, and have since held it.)

Additional Ideas (0)

Gain the ability to:Vote and add your ideas to submissions.
Upvote and give XP to useful comments.
Work on submissions in private or flag them for assistance.
Earn XP and gain levels that give you more site abilities.
Join a Guild in the forums or complete a Quest and level-up your experience.

I was then fully yours when the wounds bled sand momentarily and, if severed, shatters as sand. Great details and those sold me on it. The stats and such, while distracting, were easy to flow right through to see the beauty (ugliness?) of the ideas.

This will be perfect for the new campaign I'm just getting off the ground (Ancient Near East -ish.) I like this new take on the vampiric weapon trope and the description makes it very unique and cool.

I too like the flavor of WH. Even though I am only mildly familiar with the system, I regularly raid the sourcebooks for ideas (I am currently "plaguing" the party with Skaven and my Chiros sub was partially inspired by the Vampire Counts.)

I did get tripped up a bit by the stats. I could gather the meaning of most by context, but I don't know what Chaos Dice are or how I might translate that into my system of choice. More system neutral description would be much appreciated.

I have to check out the Chiros sub then, as I love WH Vampires. They are just so much more evil and insane than any other vampire lore I can find.

Sorry about the stats... Basically, Chaos Dice increase the chance of spells going haywire, whilst not in any way adding to the casting. Normally, you cast magic by rolling a dice pool and adding up the numbers. If the numbers pass the target number, you cast the spell. If you get any doubles, triples, etc, then you get a miscast. Chaos Dice only count towards getting doubles, etc, but not towards the total target number.

The Water-Rift is a massive crater in the center of the desert, in the center of which sits a large, unfathomable machine that produces water. Thusly, it is a veritable paradise in the center of the burning desert, and a unique culture exists there.